The Faithfulness of the Women in Jesus' Family

I preached this sermon on Mother's Day 2025.

When I was in seminary, I took a class that explored personality and family backgrounds. One of our assignments was to write a paper about our families. The professor suggested we interview family members who could provide insight we didn’t already have.

I decided this was a perfect opportunity to take a road trip. Fred and I drove out here, and I talked to several aunts and uncles. My interviews were quite informative, and I learned many things I didn’t know about my family. The one that stuck with me to this day was about a great-uncle. He did time for armed robbery when he was young. It was quite the surprise!

I’ve read online articles where people are asked to share their families’ secrets anonymously. When people don’t have to attach their names to something, I find they are very willing to share significant secrets.

I’m reasonably sure that everyone here has a family secret or a hidden past. After all, if Jesus comes from a family of women with questionable backgrounds or activities, why would our families be any different? The women in Jesus’ lineage were not perfect; however, through God’s grace, they became women of faith who were remembered in the genealogies of Jesus’ time.

Rahab

We first meet Rahab when Joshua sends two spies into the Promised Land to assess their chances of conquering the city of Jericho. The author of Joshua writes, “So, the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.”

He does not, however, explain why they chose to visit Rahab’s house. Steven Miller, in his book, Who’s Who and Where’s Where, speculates they went there because “they felt it would be a good place to get information while keeping a low profile, since strangers often spent the night there.”

They probably didn’t think anyone would tell on them, as doing so would mean admitting they were in the house of a prostitute. Someone was willing to spill the beans, and when Rahab heard that men were coming to look for the spies, she hid them on the roof of her house, under the flax that was drying there.

She then helped them escape. Her only request to them was that her family be spared when they conquered the city of Jericho. They kept their promise, and the story of Rahab concludes with verse 25, which tells us, “And she lives among the Israelites to this day.”

At the beginning of the story of Rahab, we discover she is a prostitute. However, Hebrews 11 refers to her as a faithful descendant of Jesus: “It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”

Ruth

I have always been drawn to the story of Ruth. Although she was not a Jew, she was a Moabite; she took part in the story of Jesus. Moabites were the descendants of Lot’s oldest daughter, whose son Moab was the result of her incestuous relationship with her father. Although they were distant cousins, the Moabites and Israelites harbored a deep-seated hatred for each other.

Although she had every right to go back to her family and find another husband, she chose to stay with Ruth, expecting to be a widow the rest of her life. Considering the relationship between the two nations, this was a testament to the love and care Naomi had given Ruth.

She didn’t just give up her family and home life; she also renounced any gods she had grown up believing in. She promised Ruth, “Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (16b)

By choosing to go with Naomi, she relegated herself to a life of service. Being with Naomi meant providing for her mother-in-law as best she could.

I want to make a brief aside here. Even though Naomi is not explicitly listed in Jesus’ genealogy, she played a significant role in ensuring that the Messiah’s line would include those God intended to include. Even after experiencing the grief of losing a husband and two sons and living in a foreign land due to famine in Israel, she taught Ruth about the love and grace of Yahweh. One might think Naomi would have been bitter and perhaps even turned away from God to embrace Chemosh, the god of Moab. But something about Naomi’s way of life and worship of her God convinced Ruth that Yahweh was worthy of worship.

She volunteered to go out into the fields and pick up the leftover grain, which would have been their only sustenance. Her kindness was rewarded when Boaz promised her safety, food, and drink. He even instructed his workers to leave a little extra for Ruth.

One reason I like Ruth’s story is that it shows the best side of people. There is no scheming, lying, cheating, or anger at God. Instead, the women and Boaz are kind and giving, blessing those in their lives.

Bathsheba

I have recently found myself perplexed by the story of Bathsheba. Was she a willing participant in the act of adultery she committed with King David? Or did he take advantage of her? Either way, it was a tragic event that resulted in the death of an innocent infant and her husband, Uriah. This also paved the way for Bathsheba to be in the line of Jesus.

Bathsheba’s second son, Solomon, succeeded David on the throne and continued David’s royal line down to Jesus. As the Queen Mother during Solomon’s reign, all respected Bathsheba, and Solomon looked to her for wisdom and guidance. Regardless of whether Bathsheba was instrumental in David’s and her act of adultery, she went on to prove her devotion to David, Solomon, and God.

Faith connection

What connects these three women beyond their places in Jesus’ lineage? None were perfect; two had quite a sinful history, yet God used them to accomplish great things.

Rahab is introduced to us as a prostitute, Bathsheba as an adulteress. In our eyes, they never should have been mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy. Instead, like some of our relatives who are considered the black sheep of the family, we would naturally omit them from our family story. But God puts them out there in black and white. Why would he do that?

Faith and Works

In our passage in James, the author tells us, “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (17)

It was because of her faith that Rahab hid the spies. Unlike the Israelites who kept questioning God’s power to conquer the promised land, Rahab told the spies, “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them, “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.” Joshua 2:8-10

Rahab did not witness what God did to protect the Israelites during their escape from Egypt, but she believed what she heard and acted on faith in the spies. She lived the definition of faith found in Hebrews, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation...” The author commended her later in the chapter. “It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God.” (11:1-2; 31)

The faith of Ruth

Ruth had faith in Naomi’s God because of what she witnessed of Naomi’s life. Her experience with Naomi gave her the faith to trust that God would care for her and Naomi.

As a widow, Ruth would have had no means of support. The safest option for Ruth would be to return to her family, who could support her until she marries again.

But she didn’t take the safe route; she stepped out in faith and followed Naomi to Israel. She traveled to a country she didn’t know with a widow who could not support her.

Thursday morning, before I finished this sermon, I read in Draw the Circle: The 40-Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson that for Christians, the proper sequence of events is not ready, set, go, but instead go, set, ready.

He points out that if we wait until we feel ready to follow God’s promptings, we will never act because we are never fully prepared for what God calls us to do. We must step out in faith and allow God to guide us toward the next step we need to take.

It would be easier to obey God if he laid everything out and we knew how things would end. Ruth could have asked God to guarantee that everything would work out in Israel before she followed Naomi there, but she didn’t; she put her trust in God and went.

Conclusion

What does this mean for us? Your past choices do not indicate your future faith. You can be introduced to the world as a prostitute and still be revered as a faithful woman.

You can be a Moabite woman, hated by God’s chosen people, and still be in the lineage of the Messiah.

Your initial relationship with King David can be sinful; still, through repentance, God can use it to produce the wisest man who ever lived, perpetuating the line God promised would produce our Savior.

You have made poor choices in the past (we all have), the black sheep in the family might even be you. Take stock of who you were, but don’t let it define who you will become.